Tohill crowned 5 Nations British Rallycross champion
DOUBLE European Rallycross Champion and four-time Irish Rallycross Champion Derek Tohill has been crowned as the 2021 Motorsport UK British Rallycross Championship 5 Nations Trophy Champion.
Over the seven-round 2021 campaign with events in England, Wales and Scotland [rounds in Belgium and Ireland forced to be cancelled due to ongoing world events but were replaced by double-headers at Lydden Hill and Knockhill], Tohill and the PFCRX team won three times, despite racing in one of the most competitive seasons of British Rallycross competition for some time.
Having scored top 5 Nations BRX points in round seven at Lydden Hill last month, the Terenure man left what was planned to be the penultimate round with the standings lead. Now, with the final round, unfortunately, cancelled amid the ongoing issues the world currently faces, it is now confirmed that Tohill has become the 23rd driver to claim the British Rallycross title in its 46-year history.
The season is not over for the Irish team, however, with the final round of the 2021 Irish Rallycross Championship taking place at Mondello Park on December 12, where Tohill remains in contention to win a fifth Irish Rallycross Championship crown.
Derek in action
“I’m absolutely delighted to be officially confirmed as the 5 Nations British Rallycross Champion,” said a delighted Derek Tolhill.
“It’s a huge privilege to join the list of previous winners, including multiple champion Dermot Carnegie, Christopher Evans, Helmut Holfeld and Ollie O’Donovan – all Irish competitors whom I’m honoured to join as a British Rallycross Champion.
“That’s without mentioning all the famous British winners such as Julian Godfrey, Pat Doran, Will Gollop, John Welch, Mark Rennison, Trevor Hopkins and the list goes on, together with some heroes from Northern Ireland who have won it in the past such as Laurence Gibson and Denis Biggerstaff in their iconic Metro 6R4s. These are all heroes of mine, from a championship stacked with history.
“We managed to score 89 out of 90 points in the final three rounds, just the right time to realise the pace and potential we knew we had. We lost this championship in 2019 by only 1 point, so to win it in only our second attempt is an incredible effort by the whole team, and it finished on a huge high with the massive crowds, family entertainment and night racing at Lydden Hill a few weeks ago”.
